Costco Wholesale Corp., the largest U.S. warehouse club operator, on Wednesday reported a drop in quarterly profit as rival Sam's Club slashed prices on many items, sparking what analysts have called a price war.
The Issaquah, Washington-based retailer said it earned $239.4 million, or 51 cents per share, in the fiscal fourth quarter ended August 31. That compares with earnings of $247.4 million, or 52 cents per share, in the same period last year.

Analysts, on average, were expecting Costco to earn 47 cents per share, according to Reuters Research, a unit of Reuters Group Plc.

Costco had warned in August that it would not meet its earlier earnings per share forecast for 54 cents to 56 cents, in part because of intense pressure from Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s Sam's Club, the second-largest warehouse club operator.

The company said on Wednesday that revenues for the quarter rose 11 percent to $13.42 billion from $12.05 billion during the year-ago period.

On a monthly basis, September sales at stores open at least a year increased 10 percent from a year earlier. Same-store sales in the United States were up 9 percent in this period, while international same-store sales rose 16 percent.